This is a compendious way of making good Salt-petre in quantity enough, by only Lime, Wood-ashes, and Mans or Beasts Piss. If you proceed rightly on, you may get you a great quantity of Salt-petre in a most short space of time, and that for small costs, & in a manner no labour at all. The Lime and Ashes from whence the Petre is extracted, may be mixed again with new lime and new ashes, and other arched vaults be made thereof, upon which Urine must be continually poured in like manner as we taught afore, that so they may be animated by the help of fire and air into Salt-petre. But if you have always at hand new Calx, or Lime and ashes, it is better to make new arches, thereof in the place of those you have pulled down, and to imploy the residue of that, out of which the Salt-petre hath been already extracted about dunging some barren Soil, especially the moister sort of Ground, because it is impossible so thoroughly to separate all the Salt that nothing abides behind in the reliques.
This way I communicate to all, but I reserve for my Friends only the way by which, with the help of other Waters that cost nothing, and may be had in every place, a far greater quantity of Salt-petre may in a yet shorter time be prepared by the said arches, than is done by the help of Mans or Beasts Urine. Nay more, there are some waters which in eight days time, we have observed to have been coagulated into burning Salt-petre, which secret verily may be practically improved with most notable benefit in all parts of the World that Men live in.
Besides the subjects already mentioned, here offer themselves to our Hands many others which are obvious to all, of which such arches may be made, and which will yield more Salt-petre than the afore recited matters will; but let what has already been delivered, suffice. I cannot here forbear, but must tell you that there are some subjects to be found which (without the making the aforesaid arches, though there lie notwithstanding abundance of secrets therein) will bring a most notable benefit, and that belong not to this place, and which may be changed in three hours space into excellent Petre; which labour (or operation) I keep for my Friends, and should it be divulged, it would bring nothing but hurt, and therefore it is better to be silent: There shall more secrets be delivered in the following discourse, where we speak of the Northern Monarche.
Here follows another way of plentifully extracting Salt-petre out of Rocks and Stones without Vegetables or Animals.
To the intent therefore that it may be sufficiently evidenced, and that I may prove it to be true, that Salt-petre is an universal Salt or Subject, and is consequently contained in all the things the World possesseth, I judge it a thing worth while to set down here some proofs or trials thereto accommodated.
It hath been sufficiently enough already shown in the [first part of the Prosperity of Germany], that good Salt-petre may by Art be extracted out of all the subjects of the World: But the way of so doing was not at all disclosed. For as much therefore as all Men do so greedily desire it, I determined with my self to describe first of all, the Presses requisite to the extraction of Salt-petre out of Wood, to the end that so it may evidently appear unto all Men, that it is a thing agreeable to nature, and that it is most easily accomplishable, to press a juice out of any Wood, which may be turned by the air into good Salt-petre. But as for the circulatory Vessels, I was not willing (then) to communicate them, but rather kept them a little longer for my Friends, which said Vessels I have notwithstanding set down in this Third Part.
Likewise it seemed not expedient unto me to reveal unto such as are enemies, the transformation (or changing) of Animals, much less of Minerals into Salt-petre. Yet however I have done so much by my Manuduction, as for any wise Men easily to understand the same by what hath been exhibited, and I have in some sort opened it, that such things are possible to be done. But I have not so clearly shown the way of effecting the same, least I should take away the occasion of other Mens exercising their ingenuity in bethinking themselves how it is to be done: Otherwise, it is not prohibited any one to seek a fuller information, from those that have knowledge in these affairs.
Therefore forasmuch as the way of extracting Salt-petre out of Stones, is look’d on as a most impossible thing by such as are not skill’d in this Art, I have determined to describe the same, for the sake and benefit of such as succeed us; The knack of this Artifice consisteth more in the knowing of the Stones, than in the extracting of the Salt-petre out of them, for the extraction is not any other way to be done, than as the making of their Lee out of the common Nitrous Earth is wont to be, concerning which thing, Lazarus Ercker hath written at large. The knowledge therefore of the Stones, and the preparation of them whereby they may communicate (or let go) their Nitre unto Water, is the principal thing, and without that, there cannot be any thing done in this Operation.
First of all therefore ’tis necessary that the lover of Chymistry knows, that there are various Stones to be found that yield Salt-petre, viz. all such Stones of which (being commonly calcined by the force of the fire) they make Lime for to build houses withal. For there lies hidden in these kind of Stones, abundance of Salt-petre, which cannot be gotten out thence by the help of common Water by any kind of way or method: But when they are burnt with a violent Fire, they yield an hot Salt, extractable by the benefit of common water; which Salt indeed is not Salt-petre, but yet may most easily be turned by the air into Petre, like as it was formerly Salt-petre afore the Stone was burnt, and now first got another nature by the burning.